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HSK 2

药

medicine; drug

nounneutral2 episodes
药
yào4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
yào
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 2
Strokes
9
Register
neutral
Measure word
种 / 片
In episodes
2

Stroke order for 药

药 is written with 9 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 药 mean?

药 (yào) is the everyday Chinese noun for medicine — anything you take to treat an illness, from Western pills to traditional Chinese herbs.

The most common verb is 吃药 (chī yào), literally 'eat medicine,' which English speakers often want to translate as 'take medicine.' Use 吃药 for pills and herbal brews, but 喝 (hē) for liquid medicine and 抹 (mǒ) or 涂 (tú) for ointments.

药 also appears in many compounds: 中药 (zhōngyào, traditional Chinese medicine), 西药 (xīyào, Western medicine), 药店 (yàodiàn, pharmacy), 药水 (yàoshuǐ, liquid medicine). Note that 药 by itself never means recreational drugs — for that, Chinese uses 毒品 (dúpǐn).

Hear 药 in real episodes

药 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

He Took Steroids, Drank 24 a Day and Never Trained Once. At His First Bodybuilding Contest, He Came Last.药 spoken at natural speedbeginnerHe Took Steroids, Drank 24 a Day and Never Trained Once. At His First Bodybuilding Contest, He Came Last.药 spoken at natural speedeasy
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Example sentences

你吃药了吗？

Nǐ chī yào le ma?

Have you taken your medicine?

spoken

这种药一天吃三次。

Zhè zhǒng yào yì tiān chī sān cì.

Take this medicine three times a day.

neutral

药店在医院旁边。

Yàodiàn zài yīyuàn pángbiān.

The pharmacy is next to the hospital.

neutral

我不喜欢喝中药，太苦了。

Wǒ bù xǐhuan hē zhōngyào, tài kǔ le.

I don't like drinking traditional Chinese medicine — it's too bitter.

spoken

Common phrases with 药

吃药chī yàoto take medicine
中药zhōngyàotraditional Chinese medicine
西药xīyàoWestern medicine
药店yàodiànpharmacy; drugstore
感冒药gǎnmào yàocold medicine

Synonyms

药品yàopǐn

药品 is the formal/written term used in news, regulations, and pharmacies for 'pharmaceutical products.' In daily speech, just say 药.

药物yàowù

药物 is the technical/medical term for 'a medicinal substance.' Doctors and articles use it; in normal conversation 药 is more natural.

Don't confuse 药 with

要yào

Same pinyin, different character. 要 is a verb/modal meaning 'want / will / need.' 药 is a noun meaning 'medicine.' Compare 我要药 (wǒ yào yào, 'I want medicine').

毒品dúpǐn

毒品 means recreational/illegal drugs. 药 never carries that meaning in modern Chinese — it's strictly medicinal.

茶chá

Looks similar at a glance because of the grass radical 艹, but 茶 means 'tea.' Different bottom component, different meaning.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

八eight杯glass, cup (measure word)比赛contest, competition别人other people吃to eat, to take第prefix forming ordinal numbers喝to drink酒alcohol觉得to feel, to think开始to begin看to watch练to train

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